If you still hit the side stand you can get some 9mm spacers made up and with some longer bolts move the side stand assembly on the inside of the frame. That cured it for me. There is a link with some pics on the Triumph Tiger 800 forum somewhere.

I started on the 12,000 mile service on my 2012 T800 tonight. It has seen minimal off pavement use, but has seen mostly a combination of commuting, touring, and some aggressive street riding. Based on that, my findings are as follows:

1) Air filter - it is called for at this mileage. Glad I decided to buy one. I wouldn't want to run it to 24,000 miles.

2) Valves - glad I decided to check them. The exhaust valve clearance specs are .325mm to .375mm. Converted to inches that is roughly .013" to .015". In fact, .015" is ever so slightly larger than the maximum, which is really .01476378". I can fit a .015" feeler gauge under a couple of the exhaust cam lobes with some force, which tells me these valves are on the edge of being too loose. If I really try to force it I can get a .016 feeler gauge under one lobe, but I believe I forced it hard enough to start opening the valve a hair. If I really wanted to make it perfect I would measure the shims and buy the replacements .025 mm smaller (.001") to get the valve clearance into the middle of the spec range, but I don't see the point. A little loose isn't going to hurt anything, so why hassle with it? All intake valves were in spec. The intake valves have a wider clearance range (.004" - .008"), so I'm not surprised by this.

By the way, apparently you are supposed to either remove the throttle cable bracket or move the throttle bodies back to remove the valve cover. I was able to simply push down on the throttle bodies and deflect them a bit to work the cover out of the right side. It took all of an hour to remove all of the trim, gas tank, air box, valve cover, and check all valve clearances. I estimate another half hour to reassemble tomorrow, though I won't do that immediately since I still have other parts of the service to complete.

3) Throttle Body Sync - I know the manual says to do this electronically, and I have the software & cable to do so. But just for fun I'm going to see if there are fittings to hook up a Morgan carb tune and see how close the electronic readings are to actual vacuum measurements.

4) Spark plugs - The service manual says to replace at this mileage. After inspecting them I see no point in replacement and will reinstall them.

5) Valve cover gasket - Likewise. I will reuse the old one.

6) Coolant and brake fluid - I will replace as indicated

7) Steering head bearings and shock linkage - I will grease as suggested.

8) Drive chain guide - this piece is supposed to be replaced every 6,000 miles. That would be a complete waste of money. I expect it to last about as long as I expect the chain and sprockets to last, and intend to replace all items at the same time.

So far there is nothing out of the ordinary. This bike continues to impress.

I was able to see the wear, I just don't think they are worn enough to warrant replacement. Not that it's a big deal anyway. Rather than pay the $9.99 asking price from triumph, if I wanted to replace them my local autozone two miles up the street has that exact plug in stock for something like $5.39 each.

I started on the 12,000 mile service on my 2012 T800 tonight. It has seen minimal off pavement use, but has seen mostly a combination of commuting, touring, and some aggressive street riding. Based on that, my findings are as follows:

1) Air filter - it is called for at this mileage. Glad I decided to buy one. I wouldn't want to run it to 24,000 miles.

2) Valves - glad I decided to check them. The exhaust valve clearance specs are .325mm to .375mm. Converted to inches that is roughly .013" to .015". In fact, .015" is ever so slightly larger than the maximum, which is really .01476378". I can fit a .015" feeler gauge under a couple of the exhaust cam lobes with some force, which tells me these valves are on the edge of being too loose. If I really try to force it I can get a .016 feeler gauge under one lobe, but I believe I forced it hard enough to start opening the valve a hair. If I really wanted to make it perfect I would measure the shims and buy the replacements .025 mm smaller (.001") to get the valve clearance into the middle of the spec range, but I don't see the point. A little loose isn't going to hurt anything, so why hassle with it? All intake valves were in spec. The intake valves have a wider clearance range (.004" - .008"), so I'm not surprised by this.

By the way, apparently you are supposed to either remove the throttle cable bracket or move the throttle bodies back to remove the valve cover. I was able to simply push down on the throttle bodies and deflect them a bit to work the cover out of the right side. It took all of an hour to remove all of the trim, gas tank, air box, valve cover, and check all valve clearances. I estimate another half hour to reassemble tomorrow, though I won't do that immediately since I still have other parts of the service to complete.

3) Throttle Body Sync - I know the manual says to do this electronically, and I have the software & cable to do so. But just for fun I'm going to see if there are fittings to hook up a Morgan carb tune and see how close the electronic readings are to actual vacuum measurements.

4) Spark plugs - The service manual says to replace at this mileage. After inspecting them I see no point in replacement and will reinstall them.

5) Valve cover gasket - Likewise. I will reuse the old one.

6) Coolant and brake fluid - I will replace as indicated

7) Steering head bearings and shock linkage - I will grease as suggested.

8) Drive chain guide - this piece is supposed to be replaced every 6,000 miles. That would be a complete waste of money. I expect it to last about as long as I expect the chain and sprockets to last, and intend to replace all items at the same time.

So far there is nothing out of the ordinary. This bike continues to impress.

I started on the 12,000 mile service on my 2012 T800 tonight. It has seen minimal off pavement use, but has seen mostly a combination of commuting, touring, and some aggressive street riding. Based on that, my findings are as follows:

1) Air filter - it is called for at this mileage. Glad I decided to buy one. I wouldn't want to run it to 24,000 miles.

2) Valves - glad I decided to check them. The exhaust valve clearance specs are .325mm to .375mm. Converted to inches that is roughly .013" to .015". In fact, .015" is ever so slightly larger than the maximum, which is really .01476378". I can fit a .015" feeler gauge under a couple of the exhaust cam lobes with some force, which tells me these valves are on the edge of being too loose. If I really try to force it I can get a .016 feeler gauge under one lobe, but I believe I forced it hard enough to start opening the valve a hair. If I really wanted to make it perfect I would measure the shims and buy the replacements .025 mm smaller (.001") to get the valve clearance into the middle of the spec range, but I don't see the point. A little loose isn't going to hurt anything, so why hassle with it? All intake valves were in spec. The intake valves have a wider clearance range (.004" - .008"), so I'm not surprised by this.

By the way, apparently you are supposed to either remove the throttle cable bracket or move the throttle bodies back to remove the valve cover. I was able to simply push down on the throttle bodies and deflect them a bit to work the cover out of the right side. It took all of an hour to remove all of the trim, gas tank, air box, valve cover, and check all valve clearances. I estimate another half hour to reassemble tomorrow, though I won't do that immediately since I still have other parts of the service to complete.

3) Throttle Body Sync - I know the manual says to do this electronically, and I have the software & cable to do so. But just for fun I'm going to see if there are fittings to hook up a Morgan carb tune and see how close the electronic readings are to actual vacuum measurements.

4) Spark plugs - The service manual says to replace at this mileage. After inspecting them I see no point in replacement and will reinstall them.

5) Valve cover gasket - Likewise. I will reuse the old one.

6) Coolant and brake fluid - I will replace as indicated

7) Steering head bearings and shock linkage - I will grease as suggested.

8) Drive chain guide - this piece is supposed to be replaced every 6,000 miles. That would be a complete waste of money. I expect it to last about as long as I expect the chain and sprockets to last, and intend to replace all items at the same time.

So far there is nothing out of the ordinary. This bike continues to impress.

Click to expand...

Did you notice any carbon build up on the valves? As I looked down through the butterflys when I changed the air filter, I noticed some carbon on the valves. I wonder how much is too much?

Did you notice any carbon build up on the valves? As I looked down through the butterflys when I changed the air filter, I noticed some carbon on the valves. I wonder how much is too much?

Click to expand...

There is some minor accumulation that I'm sure could be cleaned up by using some high quality fuel. For instance, shell nitrogen enriched fuels are pretty reputable for cleaning away deposits over time, whereas "grocery store gas" without a recognized name brand refiner probably contributes to deposits. I should start using shell for a while and see if it gets better over time, but honestly I'm just not worried about it.